(BQ) Part 2 book "Handbook of management accounting research (Volume 2)" has contents: A history of japanese management accounting, development of cost and management accounting ideas in the nordic countries, the development of cost and management accounting in britain, accounting in an interorganizational setting,.and other contents. | Management Accounting Practice Contexts This page intentionally left blank Handbook of Management Accounting Research Edited by Christopher S. Chapman, Anthony G. Hopwood and Michael D. Shields r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved Accounting and Control in Health Care: Behavioural, Organisational, Sociological and Critical Perspectives Margaret A. Abernethy1, Wai Fong Chua2, Jennifer Grafton1 and Habib Mahama2 1 The University of Melbourne, Australia The University of New South Wales, Australia 2 Abstract: This chapter synthesises literature exploring complex technical, social, political and institutional influences on the inception and operation of accounting in health care contexts and its diverse effects. The review is organised according to two key methodological positions adopted by researchers—behavioural/organisational and critical/sociological. The review demonstrates that although behavioural/organisational studies focus on technical economic imperatives associated with the design and use of accounting and control systems in health care organisations these cannot be disentangled or decoupled from the historical, institutional and socio-political contexts of health care accounting. To this end the chapter calls for increased methodological pluralism to further improve our understanding of accounting in health care contexts. A number of other suggestions for future research are offered and projected trends in the structure and delivery of health care services are discussed. 1. Introduction A number of features of health care organisations pose challenges for the design and implementation of accounting and control systems. These include: the complexity of the core operating processes; the control by dominant professionals of these core operating processes; the multiple and often conflicting goal sets imposed on the organisation by both internal and external stakeholders; the highly politicised environment in which these organisations function .
